Are you ready to join the movement to shake up SEND Advocacy? 

START STRONG, STAY STRONG

 

An 8 Week Programme for bad ass humans who want to grow an ethical SEND Advocacy business that's built to last. 

We are building an army of heart-led, burnout-proof, trauma-informed SEND Advocates.

If you are someone already working in the Advocacy space who wants to work with other Advocates to improve the experience of SEND families across the country, we'd love to have you join us.

If you are the person everyone comes to for advice, and you regularly hear, “Can I just pick your brains?”, and find yourself giving away your expertise for free, I want to help you turn that knowledge into a sustainable business.

Whatever your background, START STRONG, STAY STRONG is for you if you have a genuine drive to help families like yours.

What is
START STRONG, STAY STRONG?


START STRONG, STAY STRONG is an eight-week programme designed by Heidi Mavir to help people who are serious about SEND Advocacy to build or grow their advocacy services.

The programme is a vital practical foundation in business planning, marketing basics and best practice for anyone who is interested in building a sustainable SEND Advocacy Business and wants to get it right from the off, or for folks who are already working in SEND but know that they need to strengthen their foundations.

START STRONG, STAY STRONG has been designed to support established Advocates who are committed to raising standards and amplifying the voices of SEND families AND those new to Advocacy who are nervous about stepping into an unregulated industry without proper support. Over 8 weeks, Heidi will cover everything she believes any Advocate needs to build a successful business, with flexibility built in to allow you to do that on your own terms.

What You'll Learn
 

Over eight weeks, you will learn how to:
 

  • Understand the legalities and “red tape” of working in SEND Advocacy so that both you and your clients are properly protected.

  • Price your services with confidence so that you get paid properly for your time and expertise.

  • Sell your services with confidence so that you get paid properly for your time and expertise.

  • Set healthy boundaries, learning what to say no to and how to say it, so that you can burnout-proof yourself and your business.

  • Model a consent-based business so that you can burnout-proof yourself and your business.

  • Commit to a neurodivergent-affirming, trauma-informed, inclusion-based framework so that harm reduction is embedded in your practice.

Your Guide - Heidi Mavir

Professional Gobshite and EOTAS Expert

Heidi is a Sunday Times Bestselling Author who has built a thriving online community of parents and carers, all committed to improving opportunities for neurodivergent kids. Since her son, Theo, crashed out of school at 15, she’s learned everything there is to know about what works (and what doesn’t work) when it comes to running an Advocacy Business. Now she's ready to share that with you.

Everything Heidi teaches comes from doing this herself: making the mistakes, tweaking, starting over, refining what works and learning how to take care of herself during the process. She believes that, when it comes to supporting parents and carers in neurodivergent households, lived experiece is worth it's weight in gold.

Programme Structure
 

  • Week 1: Selling Yourself as an “Expert by Experience”

  • Week 2: Best Practice  -  the “Shake It Up” Guide to Not Becoming Just Another Sh*tty SEND Advocate

  • Week 3: Your Guide to Red Tape  -  Legal Shiz, Policies, Processes and Paperwork

  • Week 4: Coaching Skills  -  Why It's Not Your Job to Tell Clients What to Do

  • Week 5: How to Get Really Good at Support Calls  -  So That Clients Recommend You to Other People and You Have a Steady Income Stream

  • Week 6: Boundaries and Consent-Based Practice  -  How to Burnout-Proof Yourself and Your Business

  • Week 7: Embedding Harm Reduction in Your Advocacy Practice  -  The Shake Up SEND Academy Framework for Building a Neurodivergent-Affirming, Trauma-Informed, Inclusion-Based Business

  • Week 8: Putting Yourself Out There  -  How to Market Yourself Without Giving Yourself the ick

Plus Bonus Sessions from our team of Guest Experts on:

  • Accounting and Bookkeeping
  • GDPR-Compliant Record-Keeping
  • Using AI Ethically
  • The Role of an Advocate in SEND Appeals

And Templates and Resources that will save you time, money and admin anxiety

As well as a workbook to accompany each training, you'll have access to a bank of templates and resources to help you keep things running smoothly behind the scenes of your Advocacy Business, including:

  • Ts and Cs Templates
  • Client Agreements
  • Customisable Privacy Policy
  • Customisable GDPR Policy

  • Monthly Cashflow Tracker

     

What this isn't

START STRONG, STAY STRONG is not a training programme in SEND Law (if that's something you are looking for, we recommend IPSEA's SEND Law Training).

Instead, this course is designed to give you essential business knowledge, genuine confidence and the practical skills you need to build an Advocacy business based on your own expertise.

 

This is about turning YOUR knowledge as an expert by experience into a business, playing to your strengths and helping you to focus on where you can really make a difference.

Prices, Dates and Extra Bonuses


START STRONG, STAY STRONG is £497

We start on Monday 14 September with live training sessions taking place every Monday evening at 7.30pm
 
The cost for the full Programme, including all trainings, resources, and templates is just £497, when you pay in full.

 

Early Bird Bonus, worth £597
Register before Midnight on Monday 31 August (either pay in full or pay in installments) to get access to Heidi's EHCP Roadmap and Success Accelerator Programme (worth £597). Instant access to Heidi's signiature programme and a chance to level up your knowledge on the EHCP process, covering every stage from EHC Needs Assessment to SEND Tribunal.

 

Payment plans:

 

Pay in Full* : 1 payment of £497

Pay in 10 : 10 monthly installments of £49.99 per month.

Pay in 3 : 3 monthly installments of £166.66 per month.

 

*Pay in Full Bonus, worth £97
When you Pay In Full, you will also receive Heidi’s Burnout Proof Your Business Bundle, worth £97 FREE

 

All sessions will be recorded, and you'll have access to the replays for 12 months after the course finishes. Every session is accompanied by a self-guided workbook, for folks who like that sorta thing.

The Shake Up SEND Philosophy

We believe that the best “experts” are often experts by experience and that the knowledge gained through navigating complex systems has real value when it comes to supporting others. At the heart of the Shake Up SEND Advocacy Academy is a belief in the value of lived experience.

Many parents and carers have developed exceptional advocacy, communication and problem-solving skills through supporting their own children. Those skills deserve recognition and can become the foundation of a meaningful, sustainable business.

Why This Matters

The SEND Advocacy sector is currently unregulated. As a result, there are people operating within the space who are not working ethically or in a trauma-informed way.

At the same time, many families feel they have no option but to pay Solicitors when, in many situations, experts by experience can provide significant value and practical support to parents and carers navigating systems at a more accessible price point.

The Shake Up SEND Advocacy Academy exists to help raise standards across the SEND Advocacy Space by supporting people to build ethical, trauma-informed advocacy businesses that put families first while also protecting the wellbeing of Advocates.

In the Shake Up SEND Advocacy Academy, we prioritise collaboration over competition because we believe that we are in better service to the families who need us when we support, look out for and work alongside one another. The Shake Up SEND Advocacy Academy exists to provide support to heart-led humans working in the SEND space who want and need support from someone who has built a successful Advocacy business from the ground up. The Academy is a place to be in community with like-minded folks working for a common goal, building burnout-proof Advocacy services under the mentorship of Heidi Mavir, Founder of EOTAS Matters and Author of the Sunday Times Bestseller, Your Child Is Not Broken.

Not a Quick Fix

This isn't a “one and done” quick fix - we know that it takes time to make meaningful change. Which is why we are looking for committed humans who are aligned with our values and vision. START STRONG, STAY STRONG will give you the tools and training you need to ensure your Advocacy business is built to last and we hope that after the course ends you will join the Shake Up SEND Community where we will continue to support you as your business grows.

Accreditation

At the end of the programme, participants will have the opportunity to become an approved EOTAS Matters Advocate so that you can

  • Promote yourself to the EOTAS Matters Community.

  • Get access to ongoing professional support and supervision.

  • Join a community committed to high standards of ethical, trauma-informed practice

  • Work collectively towards ensuring parents receive the support they need while Advocates protect their own wellbeing and maintain healthy professional boundaries

  • Join he Shake Up SEND Community and continue training with us

The Vision

The Shake Up SEND Advocacy Academy is about working together to build an army of ethical, knowledgeable and well-resourced advocates who value lived experience, support families with integrity, have inclusion embedded in their daily practice and who want to grow advocacy businesses that make a genuine difference, without sacrificing their own wellbeing.

FAQs


Is there a minimum level of experience needed to join, or is lived experience alone enough?

We believe that lived experience is priceless, so if you have navigated any part of the SEND system and learned from that experience, that’s more than enough. Sometimes we forget just how much we DO know and you have probably forgotten more than most people know about your particular area of knowledge.
 

During the programme, we will look at what specific areas you can focus on in your work to be able to put yourself out there with confidence. There will also be a chance to think about any knowledge gaps you have and make a plan on how to upskill yourself in other areas. 


What is your cancellation or refund policy?

In line with UK trading Law, you have a 14 day cooling off period before the programme starts, during which time, should you change your mind, you can cancel for a refund. Once the programme starts, no refunds will be offered.  


Do people need to already have clients or a registered
business, or can this be a starting point from scratch?

If you are brand new to paid Advocacy work, START STRONG, STAY STRONG will help you with starting to promote your services, even if you haven’t done that yet. We cover the logistics of registering a business in the course for those who have not done that yet. If you are already working as an Advocate we'll help you tighten up your processes, legal protections and marketing messaging.


Are there any formal qualifications needed, either to join or to become an EOTAS Matters’ Approved Advocate  afterwards?

You don’t need any formal qualifications to join the programme. 

At the end of START STRONG, STAY STRONG you will have the opportunity to become an Approved Advocate with EOTAS Matters. There is a vetting process for this, based on everything we cover in the programme. Once you  complete the course, you’ll have everything you need to become an Approved EOTAS Matters Advocate.  


Do I need to be on Facebook to be part of START STRONG, STAY STRONG? 

Nope. All the video trainings are hosted on Zoom (which you can access with a free zoom account) and we upload replays, tools and resources  to a password protected library.


I won’t be able to attend the live trainings. Does that mean I can’t do the course? 

Please don’t fret. This programme is designed to work around you. You don’t have to attend ANY live sessions if that doesn’t work for you because we record, caption and transcribe everything.
 

How long will I be able to access replays for?

You’ll have access to the full course material for 12 months, meaning you can dip in and out, and come back to things as many times as you need to.


Video trainings aren’t accessible to me. What other options
do I have? 
Every training will be accompanied by a full transcript, easy read guide and workbook. So if you find video content hard to engage with, you can ignore the videos entirely and use the written resources instead.
 

I've still got questions. What should I do?
Send us an email. There's no such thing as a daft question and we want you to feel confident in your decision to join START STRONG, STAY STRONG.
 

Our email is hello@eotasmatters.co.uk